Time Management & Homework Lunch and Learn Seminar

Grade 7 and 8 students who would like some extra guidance on Time Management and Prioritization are invited to attend a 2-part Lunch and Learn seminar.

Part 1 - 4 Dec

A long time doing homework versus efficient time doing homework
Procrastination and work avoidance cues
Goal setting and time limits for homework

Part 2 - 11 Dec

A, B, Cs of Prioritization
Follow up to Goal Setting

Students who would like to attend this seminar MUST email the Room 16/7A teacher by Tuesday 3 December. Arrangements will be made with your core teachers to use some of these strategies for up coming assignments. Students may also be eligible for addition 1-on-1 coaching as required.

Seminar source information and documentation from the RCACS SLC QSP and IGs. Original target audience for this seminar was 16 year old students. There are key transferable concepts that will be highlights during each part. More emphasis will be placed on scenarios and application of these strategies.

Upcoming Dates, Due Dates, Homework Summaries...etc etc etc

Health: for Band due on Wednesday, for Strings due on Thursday

French booklet due on Monday

Geography due on Tuesday

Math from Mr Persaud is due on Tuesday (4 pages, assigned this past Monday...and remember we planned out how to do a little bit each night...hopefully you stuck to your plans)

Language Main Idea and Summaries - we finished chapter 10 today...start working on your summaries

Math from Mrs T from yesterday due on Monday (6 circle questions, calculating circumference).

Science: finish up your paragraph (summarize the activity, highlight something fun/concept that you understood better) and sketch your project. This is not due until late January...but better to do it now and start preparing examples for your portfolio...we will talk more about this on Thursday.

Remember that there is no Rotary on Wednesday or Thursday. On Wednesday is our Director's Cut workshop (some of you still need to bring forms and fees back). This will give us a chance to catch up some core work, work on Ender's game, and dial back the homework just a touch.

There is a tentative field trip to watch Ender's Game on 10 Dec. Cost approx $12 including TTC fair and admission. Stand by for details.

PJ day on Monday 9 Dec

Today at the end of the day we discussed the school initiative for gift-card fundraising.

Keep up the good work...3 weeks until the break!

Grade 8 Science - "Mini" Density

"One Mini, 28 people..."

Two applications of...dense...


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car-manufacturers/mini/9680859/One-Mini-28-people-and-a-new-Guinness-World-Record.html

O Canada! Verse 2 - 4

There is rumblings calling for a change to the lyrics of the national anthem. We may be living in a time where that does happen.

 

http://ohcanadaanthem.com/

 

O Canada! Where pines and maples grow.

Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.

How dear to us thy broad domain,

From East to Western sea.

Thou land of hope for all who toil!

Thou True North, strong and free!

Chorus:

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies

May stalwart sons, and gentle maidens rise,

To keep thee steadfast through the years

From East to Western sea.

Our own beloved native land!

Our True North, strong and free!

Chorus

Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,

Hold our Dominion in thy loving care;

Help us to find, O God, in thee

A lasting, rich reward,

As waiting for the better Day,

We ever stand on guard.

Chorus

 

 

<please excuse the wiki use: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Canada>

Attention 7 Strings

Reminder your health assignment is due tomorrow

Grade 8 Science - Most Boring Experiment - Pitch Drop

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57608508-1/become-an-official-witness-to-the-next-tar-pitch-drop/

http://www.theninthwatch.com/#

Background Information: http://smp.uq.edu.au/content/pitch-drop-experiment 

CORRECTION TO SCIENCE TEAM APPLICATION

The intention for the application to be due today was flawed as there was an error on the due date on the form.

As a result, all applications shall be submitted NO LATER THAN Thursday 28 November 2013 at 0850hrs.

Many thanks to those whose common sense corrected my oversight.

Attention Grade 7 and 8 Volleyball Team

Refer to the bedfordpark678.blogspot.ca for an important note regarding assignments and tests that are not yet signed and returned. Do not plan to travel with the team for Thursday's matches unless they are returned. You have 1.5 days.

Welcome to 7A dance! Today we discussed the 5 elements of dance. They are:
Body awareness - shapes, full and whole body movement, facial expression, levels
Time - musicality, tempo, beat, pace, speed
Relationship- to each other, to the space, to a prop, emotions, facial expression
Space - where are you placed in the room, levels
Energy - quality of the movement, flow, sharp, direct, indirect, fluid

We also discussed Shapes:
How do we make shapes in our body?
-use of the whole body, limbs, torso, spine, etc.
-levels will help to demonstrate
-shapes can start as triangle and circles
-they can also show an interpretation of lyrics or stories in different ways

Lets compare and contrast the two videos viewed in class, The Dying Swan and Set Fire.
What energies are similar or different?
How do the dancers use imagery in each sequence?

Set Fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZQ_RDb0lcE

The Dying Swan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW3GAjAKges

Learning Opportunity Fees

1 - Character Canoe - just a few outstanding $15
2 - Director's Cut (letter went home today) $21

Grade 7 and 8 Science Team Applications

Applications are due on 27  Nov NLT 0850hrs. No Exceptions.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y35e3escjm79r84/Science%20Team%20Application.pdf

Grade 7 Math - Unit 3 Outline

Copy and paste the link

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i2w8gkvqe1m9o46/Mathematics%20Unit%203%20Outline%20-%20geometry%20and%20measurement%20and%20data%20management.pdf

Grade 7 Science Test Review Questions

These are the recommended review questions.

Pg 23 #3,5
Pg 30 #3,6
Pg 32 #5,7
Pg 47 #1,3,4,6
Pg 54 #1,4,5
Pg 56 #6
Pg 67 #3,6
Pg 82 #1,3
Pg 88 #25, 33, 34

Students from each class were assigned a question, and required to post their response in the comments below. If you are having posting issues, please email me your responses by Sunday.

Formatting:

Pg ___ Q ___

<4-5 sentence response>

Initials 7A/7B

Reminders and week summary

Character canoe fees

Directors cut fees

Math pg 96 1-5 pg 219 1-4,6,8,10 pf 223 1-7

Language chapter 4-8 main idea and summary paragraphs

Science test on friday extra review on monday at lunch for girls on the basketball team.

Geography pg 66-69 Qs 1 and 2, the 2 diagrams and "words matter" definitions

French review section D, and there is an open book test on Tuesday.

French dvd forms due asap

Health project (poster on healthy lunch) due next week for strings musicians and in 2 weeks for wind/percussion (aka "band")

Spend at least 30mins per weekend day practicing music.

Free enders game novel on google play

Publisher seanetix first app avail. Seems to be okay.

Battleroom is a fun app. All looks okay. Install avg just to be sure.

Grade 8 Science - More videos to help study

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zwxw3ughmydxwbz/Cell-Structure-and-Function-Advanced-Biotechnology-Podcast-1-2%5Bwww.savevid.com%5D.mp4

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qd4q018qwqdtckd/Cells-Cells-Parts-of-the-Cell-Rap%5Bwww.savevid.com%5D.mp4

Science - Grade 7 and 8 Unit Outlines (copy and paste address)

Grade 7

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1n197lyfms1cmlx/Grade%207%20-%20Science%20and%20Technology%20Unit%203%20Outline%20-%20Systems%20-%20Structures.pdf


Grade 8

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w38upm1xxnwam53/Grade%208%20-%20Science%20and%20Technology%20Unit%203%20Outline%20-%20Fluids.pdf

TED Talk on Bacteria...and Squids have a circadian rhythm too!

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120614-how-bacteria-talk

Jump to 14:38 - mind blown but watch the whole talk.
 

Science - There are no limits to what you can accomplish...

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130701-perfecting-early-cancer-detection

Grade 8s...this is why all branches of science are important at your age...

Pancreatic cancer is a killer – and one that is very hard to detect. One of the reasons its survival rate is so poor that it has few symptoms in the early stages.

Partly spurred by the death of his uncle, 16-year-old scientist and researcher Jack Andraka vowed to find a quick and cheap way to test for signs of the disease.

Andraka's research – incuding writing to 200 science professors – led to him developing  a dipstick diagnostic test which searches for a biomarker for pancreatic cancer. It can also be used to test for lung and ovarian cancer.

He tells BBC Future about his quest.

Director's Cut Workshop 4 Dec 2013 (Day 4)

This workshop will be all day.

The cost for the workshop is $21; cheques payable to Bedford Park with "Director's Cut" in the memo. A letter will be coming home this week.

There will be no Rotary on 4 and 5 December. 7B also has the workshop on  4 Dec.

Grade 8s have theirs on 5 Dec.

Grade 8 Science - Cell Biology Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcXdfofLoj0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zsdYOgTbOk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpj0emEGShQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvTfkMhEw3g

http://wolfbat359.com/phagocytosis2.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6hn3sA0ip0g

Upcoming Science...

Grade 8s will start their next unit in Hydraulics and Pneumatics next week, with a 4 week half-unit block dedicated to Viscosity taught by Ms Templeton.

Grade 7s will start their next unit in Structures right after their test, including an understanding of ergonomics and aesthetics taught by Ms Zhang.

Grade 7 Ecosystems Test - Friday 29 November

Grade 8 Science - Banana DNA Extraction Lab Preparation - NOT testable material

Have a read through the following instructions, and click on the links for additional references. These steps are...simplified...compared to the one we will actually do in class. Single periods will be used to prepare for the Lab, and doubles to run the lab itself.

Terminology (due during the single period, where we review the procedure - and not part of the test these are actually all mixture terms...):

Precipitate (and not in the context of precipitation)
Filtrate

Preparation questions (also not required for the test, but necessary for the lab):

What is distilled water? How do we make it? (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Distilled-Water)

Why is it important to mash the bananas?

Why does the alcohol float on the water?

EDTA is a key ingredient in the soap used in this experiment. What does it stand for?


http://www.null-hypothesis.co.uk/science/interactive/item/banana_DNA_extraction_kids_experiments

WHAT TO DO:
1. Dissolve about 1 gram of salt in 100 millilitres (ml) of water.
In terms of safety, there's actually no reason to wear latex gloves to dissolve salt in water. We just like wearing them.  There's also no need to do this in a lab, but they wouldn't let us out.
2. Mash up about ½ banana (or about ½ cuppeas) in the salt water to make a banana soup. Be sure it’s mashed up really well.
Mashing up the banana helps to break down the cell walls and will make DNA easier to extract. Salt helps DNA solidify later in the experiment.



3. Pour banana soup through a coffee filter into a new clear plastic cup. You'll only need about 5-10 ml for the rest of the experiment. Toss out coffee filter with banana bits (or save for banana bread!)Cells need to be nice and mashed up before you can extract DNA. This is why we need to filter the clumpy bits through the coffee filter.


4. Add a few drops of washing up liquid to your banana soup. Swirl the mixture but do not shake - no bubbles!! (You can also do this with jazz hands).Washing up liquid is made of grease, which is very similar to cell membranes. The grease will penetrate the membranes and break them up, allowing the DNA to escape from the nucleus.



5. Let mixture sit for about 5-10 minutes.

6. Add about 1-2 millilitres of pineapple juice. Stir GENTLY!
When you broke open the cell membrane with the detergent, not only did you release the DNA, you released lots of proteins in the cell too. Some of these proteins are attached to the DNA. Pineapple juice contains an enzyme which will break up those proteins and make the DNA unravel, making it easier to see. 
7. Slowly pour rubbing alcohol into your cup until it forms a layer equal in volume to your banana soup mixture. The alcohol layer should sit on top of the soup mixture. Swirl mixture.We use rubbing alcohol because it separates the DNA from the rest of the proteins and grease that are in the banana cells. DNA likes to be in alcohol, which is less dense than water—which is what grease and proteins prefer.


8. You should see some whitish stringy stuff at the bottom of your alcohol layer. You can use a wooden stick like a toothpick to ‘spool’ this out of the mixture. Congratulations, you’ve extracted DNA!

Grade 7 Science - Reminder of required readings from the Ecosystem Unit

Introduction to Ecosystems, classifying biotic and abiotic components, review food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids Pg 10 - 33

Examine population cycles, primary and secondary succession, bioinvasion Pg 48 - 51, 63 - 65

Dragonfly Pond Activity (zoning, land use) Discuss Human Impact 68 - 71

Grade 8 Science - Outline reminder

Grade 8

Discuss Modern Cell Theory Pg 13 Investigate Diffusion and Osmosis Pg 26 - 27

Define all significant organelles in plant and animal cells, and determine the difference between the two Pg 18 - 19

Unicellular and Multi-cellular Organisms, Cell Specialization pg 38 - 49 Cell Reproduction pg 50

Review Organ, Tissues, and Human Body Systems Pg 62 - 77

Grade 8 Science - Test Topic Summary

Basic Cell Theory - including that odd thing called spontaneous generation

Diffusion, Osmosis, and selective permeability

Parts of an Animal and Plant Cell

Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Organisms, as well as their "types" of cells

Bacteria and Viruses

Mitosis, Interphase (G1, S, G2) and Cytokenisis

Types of Animal and Plant Tissues

Parts of a Microscope

Ender's Game Chapter 3 Summary

Chapter 3: Graff

Main Idea: After thinking that all of testing is complete, Ender thinks about his purpose in life, his destiny, and how it connects with the monitor. Ender has to make a difficult decision to commit himself to Battle School. His family's importance to him, especially Valentine, made this choice difficult for him.

Summary:           The day after the fight with Stilson, Ender is dreading the thought of going to school. Graff from the IF comes and the family thinks that it is about the fight with Stilson, but after some discussion Graff is talking to Ender and his family about Ender going to Battle School. Graff believes that Ender needs to go to Battle School to help save the world. Ender's parents love him and do not want him to go. His parents thought that once the monitor was removed Ender could stay, and they are outraged the removing the monitor was also part of the test. Graff shares Ender's parents history with him and convinces him that his parents do not want him because he is a Third, as they do not like explaining to others why they have a Third. Ender has a choice to stay or to go, but he chooses to go and thinks he will miss Valentine a lot. Ender is also happy to leave so he won't be near Peter. Another reason why he chooses to go is because it will be easier for his family. Ender considers the fact that he is a Third as part of the reason why he should go to Battle School.

Anne Frank Content Test Results

Class Average: 71.2%

Math Unit 2 Quiz 1 Results

Class average: 73.4%

Quizzes go home tomorrow, to be signed and returned by next Tuesday (day of the test). Consider it the "ticket" to write your test. Don't lose your ticket (even for comedic escape!).

Diorama Work Periods

Gr 7 students are invited to work on their dioramas during Lunch on Wed and Thurs of this week. Remember that they are due at the END of the double period on Thursday.

Reminders for tomorrow:

BEDMAS Homework check - have it ready

Jot down events from Chapter 3 and be ready to help build a chapter summary

Dress well and warm as we are going to Locke

Have a look through and start working on the practice test

Ender's Game Collaborative Chapter Summaries 1 & 2

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

Chapter 1: Third

Main Idea: In this chapter Ender goes through a life-changing experience where he has a government-monitor surgically removed. He is now like everyone else at school, and has no one looking out for him anymore. Just because he is normal  does not mean he will be treated any different.

Summary:          

                Ender , whose real name is Andrew Wiggin, is a very smart 6 year old. He does not pay much attention in class and his sister already taught him everything. Ender is the Third child in the family, which is not allowed unless the government authorizes it. Ender's brother is not nice to him because he has the monitor, which is required by the government, in longer than he did. The monitor records all of Ender's senses, such as hearing, feeling, and seeing. After Ender had the monitor removed, which was a painful experience, he was attacked by a gang after school who mocked him because he "washed out" of the government program. Instead of being beaten, Ender surprised everyone and viciously beat the leader. At the end of the chapter, he cried on the way home because of his actions, thinking that he is just like his older brother.

Chapter 2: Peter

Main Idea: This chapter introduces the idea of jealous siblings and people feeling pressured by their parents. Ender is picked on by his jealous older brother, but his older sister is protective.  This chapter discusses Ender's relationship with his entire family.

Summary:

                When Ender returns home, Peter is really jealous that Ender had the monitor longer than him, because that means Ender almost "made it." Valentine and Ender know about Peter's mean side, but everyone else thinks he is as handsome as Alexander the Great. There was a war between astronauts and buggers. Now children play make-believe games about them. Peter threatens to kill Ender while they play buggers and astronauts.  The astronauts always win, and determine when the game is over. Valentine tries to defend Ender and helps to protect Ender. They are both fearful of Peter as he repeatedly threatens to kill Ender and Valentine.  At supper, Ender thinks that his parents are disappointed in him because the monitor was removed, and now the family would have to explain to everyone why they have 3 children, however the parents are really proud of them. At the end of the chapter Peter tells Ender that he loves him and understands what Ender is going through now that Ender had the monitor removed.